What Would You Do? Responses to “Not Your Dream Job”
By John West Hadley
The Stepping Stone, September 2021
In the July 2021 issue of The Stepping Stone, I presented the following career decision faced by an almost newly-minted FSA. Here are selected responses and excerpts, edited for space and clarity, followed by the real-life conclusion. (Please note that inclusion of responses should not be taken as an endorsement by either the Leadership & Development Section Council or the Society of Actuaries of the positions presented.) Send your own ideas for situations to pose in upcoming issues to SteppingStone@JHACareers.com.
Not Your Dream Job
Ahmed is facing his final actuarial exam and is up for rotation into a new position. As he looks at what rotations are available, he finds he isn’t all that excited about his options. Then Sally, an innovative actuary to whom Ahmed had been assigned on a special project, approaches him. Sally says that the financial manager in her new operation isn’t working out as expected, and if Ahmed would like it, she will find another role for that other actuary.
Ahmed had started in the company around the same time as that financial manager and considers him a friend. He has concerns about being seen as “replacing” a friend, and whether there might be friction between them. He has also done a year’s rotation through a different financial operation of the company and had not found the work overly stimulating. At the time, he had concluded that he much preferred product work over a strictly financial or valuation role. Still, Ahmed had very much enjoyed working for Sally on that special project and found her approach to issues refreshing. He really likes the idea of being part of her operation.
If you were Ahmed, what would you do?
Many thanks to all respondents! There was a clear consensus that Ahmed should not be concerned about being seen as “replacing” a friend. Several suggested that any issue there was up to Sally to manage:
I wouldn’t be concerned at all about “replacing” the friend. Sometimes people aren’t a good fit for a role and that’s okay. I think the burden is on Sally to make the transition of that actuary to a new role smooth and avoid any perceived “friction.” Sally is doing the right thing by moving her people around and trying to build a team where everyone is playing to their strengths.
Ahmed should let Sally know about his relationship with the financial manager and Sally should manage the issue. If she has been a good leader, it should not be a surprise to the financial manager that things are not working out. Sally can take much of the burden off of Ahmed by letting the financial manager know that she wants Ahmed to work for her. In this way, Ahmed will not be blamed for “replacing” the financial manager.
While Ahmed is to be commended for being concerned with his friend, not being the “right fit” can go both ways. Perhaps his friend isn’t happy working in his current role either. Sally, as the manager, is responsible for ensuring that the appropriate message is conveyed. Ahmed’s primary focus should be on what would be best for him.
If Ahmed does not take the role, Sally will continue searching for someone else who will, and his friend will be out of that position anyway.
This actuary looked at the issue from the friend’s perspective:
The friend’s working relationship with Sally is separate from Ahmed. If he is in a vulnerable position, that doesn’t involve Ahmed one way or the other. If he were to lose his job and Ahmed gets it, the friend should be a friend and not let that impact the relationship. That might be difficult emotionally, but would be the proper approach. Ahmed could discuss in advance the issue (of taking the job after his friend lost it), and that might be a sensitive thing to do, but as adults, that should not be necessary.
The reactions to the core question were a bit more mixed. Half felt it was clear Ahmed should take the opportunity with Sally, though a couple qualified that he should be sure it won’t interfere with his last exam. The other half had reservations. Here were the strongest “No’s”.
Even though Ahmed likes Sally, that would be a more long-term commitment to the financial side of the operation, which he already knows he doesn’t care for. He should be able to tactfully decline the opportunity but still maintain a good relationship with Sally while staying on good terms with his friend and keeping his career options open. Good relationships with business associates have value that go far beyond the immediate future.
Against the job with Sally: Ahmed did not like his previous experience with financial roles, he likes product roles. Sally deserves to know that he has a preference that might have an effect on his longevity in that role. An honest discussion might go a long way to morphing the job into something he would like better or might lead them both to walk away from the idea. Or maybe he feels more comfortable after the conversation.
Really against the job with Sally: It seems wrong for Sally to approach Ahmed and talk bad about her current employee. Some things are conversations with HR, not conversations with others. I would find it hard to get past this point.
So, I would lean toward not going there. Lots of negatives and the only positive (albeit a big one) is that he liked working with Sally on a special project. The problem is that this is not a special project. This is every single day.
Here were some of the rationales for a “Yes”:
Ahmed, follow your passion not your niceness. Your friend will find his passion elsewhere.
Getting approached by someone for an opportunity is often more important than the opportunity itself. It means someone has confidence in your abilities, wants you on the team, and thinks you can be successful. Ahmed can let Sally know he’s concerned about the impact for his friend, and ask her to help him work through it. Perhaps this will result in a better opportunity for his friend in the long run, and Ahmed will be working for someone he finds innovative and fun to work with.
Since he does not view the other rotations as attractive, Ahmed's best option is to work for Sally. Working for a good supervisor when none of the work is exciting him is a good plan for now. He should focus on passing his exam while he does a good job for Sally; once he becomes an FSA he will be highly marketable and can choose to go elsewhere.
In this role, Ahmed’s attitude will be critical. You can learn from all roles, and you need to go into a position expecting to learn something, not as something to dread. Ahmed needs to find the motivation within himself to do this job well and look forward to what it has to offer. People do matter, and if Ahmed enjoys working with Sally, this new role could be very worthwhile.
Positions within a company are not forever, and a positive attitude will be remembered (as well as a grumpy one). Doing this job well will open Ahmed up to future opportunities.
Ahmed is close to attaining his FSA. At that point, several options, not necessarily in his current company, will become available. So, his focus should be on passing that last exam. He should take the offer from Sally, as long as it won't affect his focus on the exam, and with the understanding that it could be short-term.
The people you work with can have a much larger impact on your happiness in a job than the actual work itself. Getting to work with Sally again is a plus. If the actuary he is “replacing” would remain in a new role in the same team, that would be another plus since Ahmed considers him a friend. Even though Ahmed didn’t love his prior financial/valuation role, if Sally is as innovative as he thinks, this role could turn out to be entirely different. Given Ahmed admits he isn’t “excited about his options” for the regular rotation roles, I think he would do much better joining Sally’s team.
Some respondents raised good questions Ahmed should consider in evaluating this:
Ahmed should follow up with Sally to find out more specifics about the role and why the financial manager isn't working out as expected. It is important to understand Sally's expectations about the role and what specifically isn't working. Is it a personality clash? Are there differences in approach? What skills does Sally see Ahmed bringing to the role that the financial manager does not possess?
Ahmed should ask himself, will taking on a new role distract him from completing his last exam? Some roles are more time-consuming and can be “exam killers.” What can he learn in this new role? Will this be his final rotation as an actuarial student if he passes his exam? If so, depending on the organization, he may need to wait for an opening and post into a new role at the organization, which can be harder. Would he be ok with that? Working with dynamic and exciting managers is a good thing, but definitely not the only consideration. He has a long career ahead of him once he gets his FSA designation.
A few others emphasized the importance of having a conversation with Sally:
If the culture encourages employees to ask for rotations into positions of interest, then Ahmed should feel comfortable telling Sally that he doesn’t think he would be the right candidate for the financial manager position and that he would like to see if it was possible to rotate into product work. On the other hand, if it is more up to the company to assign rotations then Ahmed should simply tell Sally that he will work hard wherever he is rotated. Younger workers need to remember that it isn’t all about them and that we are all working to move the organization forward.
The main thing for Ahmed to consider is that this is intended to be a rotation and therefore is not intended to be a long-term placement. Before making the decision, he should talk with Sally, especially with respect to prior experience in a financial role. As innovative as Sally is, the financial role may still have the same qualities that Ahmed didn't like the last time. Having the conversation may help Sally shape her area in a different way—she may not know what Ahmed felt about the financial position he had before.
Finally, this actuary felt Ahmed might need to open up his thinking about financial work:
I had similar feelings at that stage of my career. I thought I wanted to be a product actuary, but later found that having a thorough grounding in valuation and financial reporting opened up many opportunities in merger and acquisition work, capital management, and enterprise risk management. Sally may very well have some innovative ideas in building out a financial operation!
What Actually Happened?
Ahmed decided that he really wanted to work for Sally again and took the financial manager role. Sally found another role for the former occupant, who then made his own move a few months later, and he and Ahmed remained friends.
To Ahmed’s surprise, financial work under Sally’s direction and philosophy was much more interesting than he had previously found it, and he also got to work on an exciting “productivity improvement” project. Six months later, a similar “not working out” situation arose involving a product manager role, and Sally invited him to make the shift to the job he really wanted.
Although Sally left the company a few years later, she remained a mentor and good friend of Ahmed’s throughout his career.
Statements of fact and opinions expressed herein are those of the individual authors and are not necessarily those of the Society of Actuaries, the newsletter editors, or the respective authors’ employers.
John Hadley is a career counselor who works with job seekers frustrated with their search, and professionals struggling to increase their visibility and influence. He can be reached at John@JHACareers.com or 908.725.2437. Find his free Career Tips newsletter and other resources at www.JHACareers.com. LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnwesthadley/.